[Comparative study of ambulatory care activities: the visit and the care event]

To carry out a comparative descriptive study of the healthcare activity of an outpatient clinic specialising in "Hearts and Lungs". Unit of analysis: care event. A procedure to construct the events was worked out.

A prospective study of the care activity over a year, with a retrospective review at two years to construct the events.

Torreforta-La Granja Primary Care Centre, Tarragona.

Included 1,312 patients (catchment area of 37,266 people), who consulted the doctor.

3,467 attendances were recorded, of which 3,207 were selected, with 1,477 care events being identified on the basis of the information collected from the attendances. Daily average attendances were 13.09 +/- 3.5, by mainly male (56.3%) patients aged 53 +/- 20. Analysis by events showed a low number of visits, with an intensive use of the health resources available in the centre and low use of more complex resources. There was a low use of medical processes per event, with a high level of coverage or extent of these investigations. Hospital contacts per event identified an important amount of complementary activity concerning the emergency services and outclinics.

The comparative analysis makes clear that the records based on attendance over-represent long events and undervalue the extent of investigations.